London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

Jonathan Edwards: Wife assault MP to represent Plaid in Commons

Jonathan Edwards: Wife assault MP to represent Plaid in Commons

An MP cautioned for assaulting his wife will be allowed to represent his party again at Westminster.

Plaid Cymru has returned the whip to Jonathan Edwards, who had been sitting as an independent, despite having been given his party membership back.

The decision comes despite a ruling body of the party having earlier recommended to not re-admit Mr Edwards to the group.

The MP was suspended in July 2020, two months after being arrested at home.

Details of the incident are not known, but at the time he said he was "deeply sorry", adding it was "the biggest regret of my life".

Splits emerged in the pro-independence party last month after a disciplinary panel gave the go-ahead for Mr Edwards to have his membership restored, but while the party considered whether to represent the party in the Commons again.

The situation was criticised by local party members who wanted Mr Edwards to be a fully-fledged Plaid MP, while others called for the party to take a stand against domestic violence and keep him him out of the party altogether.

In May, former party leader Leanne Wood called for Mr Edwards to be banned from Plaid if it "is serious about stamping out misogyny and domestic abuse".

The party's chairwoman Beca Brown said Plaid's decision came following "procedural advice" it received, but added that a review would look at how the party could be "truly free from a culture of misogyny".

The MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, who had been sitting as an independent, said: "I wish to apologise unreservedly again for the action that led to my suspension and express my deep remorse for the hurt which I have caused.

"My colleagues in the Westminster group and the wider party have championed the rights of women and all victims of abusive behaviour. I regret that my actions took the focus away from this important work."

He added that the past two years had been "a period of deep reflection in which I enrolled on a domestic violence awareness course which has helped me understand the impact my action had on others".

Mr Edwards rejoined the party after Plaid's disciplinary panel found he had expressed "sincere remorse" and undergone an "extended period of self-reflection and learning".

Plaid Cymru's chairwoman said Mr Edwards had the whip restored following "further procedural advice"


But Ms Brown confirmed that after the panel's decision, the National Executive Committee voted by a "significant majority" to recommend to Plaid's Westminster group that Mr Edwards was not re-admitted.

This prompted the resignation of the previous party chairman, Alun Ffred Jones, who disagreed with the NEC's actions.

"The principle of allowing members of the party's ruling executive to discuss a matter of such significance was of the utmost importance," Ms Brown said.

"Having received further procedural advice Plaid Cymru has now notified Mr Edwards that the processes relating to his membership of the Westminster group has concluded. The whip has been restored to Mr Edwards."

She said the NEC would review the party's processes to identify lessons that can be learned in the case and commission an independent review "to identify the steps required for the party to be truly free from a culture of misogyny, and to actively and meaningfully promote, defend and extend women's participation in Plaid Cymru and wider politics".

A statement issued after the 2020 incident on behalf of Mr Edwards' wife Emma, said she had accepted her husband's apology.

The local Plaid Cymru party in Carmarthenshire said: "We are delighted Jonathan will resume his role as a much valued and respected Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament.

"He has served this constituency with great dignity and integrity for over a decade."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
×